Affected Gariahat hawkers to get trolley-based stalls, says Firhad Hakim
Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will handover trolley-based stalls to the hawkers whose shops got gutted at Gariahat on Sunday morning. Mayor Firhad Hakim announced that the KMC will also handover Rs 20,000 to the affected hawkers as compensation.
"We are all aware of the humanitarian side of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She has instructed me to do something for the hawkers who have suffered a huge loss due to the mishap. We have decided to handover trolley-based stalls and Rs 20,000 to the affected hawkers as compensation," Hakim said.
He maintained that the movable stalls will enable the hawkers to shift to a safe distance in case of a fire emergency. "Gariahat police station has made a survey on the affected hawkers and prepared a list. The benefits will be given on the basis of this list," he added. It may be mentioned that the KMC has already handedover such stalls to food hawkers at some places in the city including in and around SSKM. The affected hawkers at Gariahat are mainly garment hawkers.
The KMC will hold a meeting with a number of hawker organisations in the city on Tuesday and present before them the design of the vehicles that have been planned. "The hawkers will decide whether the design will suit their trade," a senior official of the civic body said.
The Mayor also urged the hawkers not to use black plastic to cover their stalls and minimise the use of large hoardings. "First, we will first request them and then, if they don't pay heed we will take strong steps," the Mayor added.
The building department of the KMC on Monday visited the five-storeyed building housing several commercial and residential units that caught fire on Sunday. A source in the department informed that the temperature of the building has not normalised and will take some more time.
"Our structural engineers will be able to assess the damage of the building's structure and the cracks it had developed only after the normal temperature is restored," a building department official who visited the site said.
